Horse Definition & Meaning

American

British

More Idioms

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms horse American [hawrs] / hɔrs /

noun

plural

horses,

plural

horse

1. a large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties, and used for carrying or pulling loads, for riding, and for racing.

2. a fully mature male animal of this type; stallion.

3. any of several perissodactyls belonging to the family Equidae, including the horse, zebra, donkey, and ass, having a thick, flat coat with a narrow mane along the back of the neck and bearing the weight on only one functioning digit, the third, which is widened into a round or spade-shaped hoof.

4. something on which a person rides, sits, or exercises, as if astride the back of such an animal.

   rocking horse.

5. Also called trestle. a frame, block, etc., with legs, on which something is mounted or supported.

6. Gymnastics.

   1. vaulting horse.

   2. pommel horse.

7. Carpentry. carriage.

8. soldiers serving on horseback; cavalry.

   a thousand horse.

9. Slang. a man; fellow.

10. Informal. Often horses. horsepower.

11. Slang. horses, the power or capacity to accomplish something, as by having enough money, personnel, or expertise.

    Our small company doesn't have the horses to compete against a giant corporation.

12. Chess Informal. a knight.

13. Slang. a crib, translation, or other illicit aid to a student's recitation; trot; pony.

14. Mining. a mass of rock enclosed within a lode or vein.

15. Nautical. traveler.

16. Shipbuilding. a mold of a curved frame, especially one used when the complexity of the curves requires laying out at full size.

17. Slang. heroin.

verb (used with object)

horsed, horsing

1. to provide with a horse or horses.

2. to set on horseback.

3. to set or carry on a person's back or on one's own back.

4. Carpentry. to cut notches for steps into (a carriage beam).

5. to move with great physical effort or force.

   It took three men to horse the trunk up the stairs.

6. Slang.

   1. to make (a person) the target of boisterous jokes.

   2. to perform boisterously, as a part or a scene in a play.

7. Nautical.

   1. to caulk (a vessel) with a hammer.

   2. to work or haze (a sailor) cruelly or unfairly.

8. Archaic. to place (someone) on a person's back, in order to be flogged.

verb (used without object)

horsed, horsing

1. to mount or go on a horse.

2. (of a mare) to be in heat.

3. Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.

adjective

1. of, for, or pertaining to a horse or horses.

   the horse family; a horse blanket.

2. drawn or powered by a horse or horses.

3. mounted or serving on horses.

   horse troops.

4. unusually large.

verb phrase

1. horse around to fool around; indulge in horseplay.

idioms

1. look a gift horse in the mouth, to be critical of a gift.

2. To horse! Mount your horse! Ride!

3. hold one's horses, to check one's impulsiveness; be patient or calm.

   Hold your horses! I'm almost ready.

4. beat / flog a dead horse, to attempt to revive a discussion, topic, or idea that has waned, been exhausted, or proved fruitless.

5. from the horse's mouth, on good authority; from the original or a trustworthy source.

   I have it straight from the horse's mouth that the boss is retiring.

6. horse of another color, something entirely different. Also horse of a different color.

7. back the wrong horse, to be mistaken in judgment, especially in backing a losing candidate.

horse British / hɔːs /

noun

1. a domesticated perissodactyl mammal, Equus caballus, used for draught work and riding: family Equidae

2. the adult male of this species; stallion

3. 1. a horse ( Equus caballus ) that has become feral

   2. another name for Przewalski's horse

4. 1. any other member of the family Equidae, such as the zebra or ass

   2. ( as modifier )

      the horse family

5. (functioning as plural) horsemen, esp cavalry

   a regiment of horse

6. short for Baja California Norte

7. a narrow board supported by a pair of legs at each end, used as a frame for sawing or as a trestle, barrier, etc

8. a contrivance on which a person may ride and exercise

9. a slang word for heroin

10. mining a mass of rock within a vein of ore

11. nautical a rod, rope, or cable, fixed at the ends, along which something may slide by means of a thimble, shackle, or other fitting; traveller

12. chess an informal name for knight

13. informal short for horsepower

14. (modifier) drawn by a horse or horses

    a horse cart

15. a completely different topic, argument, etc

16. informal to be disdainfully aloof

17. See flog

18. to hold back; restrain oneself

19. a policy, course of action, etc modified slightly to take account of specific circumstances without departing in essentials from the original

20. the most reliable source

21. an order to mount horses

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. (tr) to provide with a horse or horses

2. to put or be put on horseback

3. (tr) to move (something heavy) into position by sheer physical strength

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 horse More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing horse

• back the wrong horse
• beat a dead horse
• cart before the horse
• change horses in midstream
• charley horse
• dark horse
• eat like a bird (horse)
• from the horse's mouth
• hold one's horses
• if wishes were horses
• look a gift horse in the mouth
• on one's high horse
• war horse
• wild horses couldn't drag
• work like a beaver (horse)
• you can lead a horse to water

Usage

Where does the word horse come from? A horse is a horse, of course, of course. And that's basically true, etymologically speaking, too.Horse comes from the Old English hors. The word has many cousins in Germanic languages, and might come from an ancient root meaning "to run." If that’s the case—then of course!At the same time, that Old English hors has no relation to hors d'oeuvre, French for "outside the main course."And the word hoarse, meaning “having harsh or husky sound,” is a homonym of horse. While the words sound the same and are nearly spelled the same, they have different histories. Now that you know how horses got their name, why not find out how some of our other most beloved pets got theirs in the slideshow: "Where Do The Words For Our Pets Come From?"

Other Word Forms

• horseless adjective
• horselike adjective
• underhorse verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of horse

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English noun hors; cognate with Old Norse hross, Dutch ros, German Ross ( Middle High German ros, Old High German hros ), from Germanic horso-, perhaps from the same Proto-Indo-European root that is the source of Latin currere “to run” (from unattested cursere ); Middle English horsen “to provide with horses,” Old English horsian, derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I recently posted a beauty shot of my wife on a horse on a mountain and friends wondered if it was AI.

From Barron's

It’s Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox treating Robert E. Lee with perfectly calibrated respect, letting Lee’s officers keep their sidearms and his men their personal horses.

From The Wall Street Journal

But horse racing is decades past the days when spectators lined up to watch the sport.

From Los Angeles Times

Anne Dunham was one of the UK's most decorated Paralympians, though she was always quick to credit her horse Teddy Edwards.

From BBC

Surprisingly, none of the three claimed Austen’s best-known novel, “Pride and Prejudice,” while dark horse candidate “Mansfield Park” — Austen’s far less sparkly, even somber third novel — appeared to win the day.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• colt
• filly
• mare
• stallion

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.